En symbol för kampen – men också hårt kritiserad

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She held several government positions, including as Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. A member of the African National Congress (ANC) party, she served on the ANC's National Executive Committee and headed its Women's League. Born to a Xhosa family in Bizana, British South Africa, she studied social work at the Jan Hofmeyr School. In 1958 she married the lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg; they remained married for 38 years and had two children together. In 1963, Mandela was imprisoned following the Rivonia Trial; Madikizela-Mandela became his public face during the 27 years of his imprisonment. During these years, she rose to prominence within the domestic anti-apartheid movement. She was arrested and detained by state security services on various occasions and spent several months in solitary confinement. In the 1980s, Madikizela-Mandela endorsed violent actions, including necklacing, to advance the anti-apartheid cause. A security detail, known as the Mandela United Football Club, developed around her. They were involved in various violent activities, including the killing of the teenager Stompie Moeketsi. Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990; the couple separated in 1992 although remained married until their divorce was finalised in March 1996. They remained in contact, and she visited him when he was mired in ill-health in later life. As a senior ANC figure, she took part in the post-apartheid ANC government, although was dismissed from her post amid allegations of corruption. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission established by Mandela's government to investigate past human rights abuses revealed many of her violent activities during the 1980s and damaged her reputation. In 2003, she was convicted of theft and fraud. She temporary retreated from active political involvement although returned several years later. A controversial activist, she remained popular among her supporters, who refered to her as the "Mother of the Nation", and she was offered academic honours abroad. Conversely, she was reviled by others for having personally been responsible for the murder, torture, abduction, and assault of numerous men, women, and children, as well as indirectly responsible for an even larger number of such crimes.